November 2016

TemeTeme TRIANGLETRIANGLE Clifton upon Teme • The Shelsleys • Lower Sapey November 2016 Clifton Friendship Club’s Pudding Extravaganza In this edition 4 Clifton Parish Council minutes latest 4 Christmas in the Parishes 4 Church Matters OPEN 4 Advent in the Shelsleys www.temetriangle.net Free to Residents Just a few of the scrumptious cakes on display at the Great Clifton Bake Off organised by the Clifton WI. EDITOR: Jerry Johns [email protected] WEBSITE/CLIFTON NEWS: Jerry Johns: 01886 812304 [email protected] ADVERTISING/SPONSORSHIP: Andrew and Anna Brazier 01886 887898 teme.triangle@theb raziers.co.uk LOWER SAPEY NEWS: Marion West 01886 853249 [email protected] Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editorial team. Teme Triangle is not responsible for goods and services advertised. Front Cover Picture Sue Palmer, Pat Prosser and Marie Thompson at the Clifton Friendship Club’s Pudding Extravaganza 2 www.temetriangle.net CLIFTON PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES Clifton Parish Council has again decided not to allow publication of ‘draft abbreviated’ minutes in Teme Triangle within a month of their meetings despite pleas from a number of local residents and organisations. A lengthy statement, read by Wendy Bradley, said the Parish Council ‘resolved that it would continue to uphold a resolution (made at a previous meeting) that ‘approved minutes be circulated as widely as is practicable within the parish’. ‘At a previous meeting, five out of six councillors voted democratically to provide approved minutes to Teme Triangle. We are all more than capable of making our own decisions. To be very clear – it is the councillors who are running this Parish Council. We are not being awkward and intransigent - we take our responsibilities seriously and regard that the content of the minutes falls under our remit and not that of Teme Triangle. We consider that it is prudent to ensure residents read minutes that are not subject to wording alteration, omission of content etc that may skew accuracy and balance. The volume and complexity of business is increasing and with new housing will expand further – we are also thinking ahead. It is important to the councillors to feel confident in the information we are providing. We are councillors for this parish, what other parishes choose to do is up to them. We have set up a distribution list for residents so that we can email approved minutes as soon as is practicable – please let us know if you or anyone else would like to be added. We have consistently provided minutes to Teme Triangle and in fact for two months they did publish approved minutes which we had condensed for ease of publishing. Teme Triangle then said that they would not publish approved minutes because they were too long, they don’t fit into their time frame and they want the right to alter them as they see fit. We think it is better to have accurate approved minutes later rather than draft minutes edited by Teme Triangle sooner. Those who are unhappy might wish to ask Teme Triangle to reconsider its position. In saying that, we are not disrespectful of some resident’s feelings and wish the matter to be resolved. In conclusion, it is not helpful or desirable from anybody’s point of view to continue with this level of misunderstanding and disharmony which is why the Parish Council has chosen to circulate this reply.’ www.temetriangle.net 3 The Parish Council’s statement was issued in response to several Clifton residents who had written to the Council prior to last month’s meeting, including Mike Glyde of Manor Road: ‘With recent developments in and around the village the PC minutes are often the only readily accessible means of being informed of what is going on in our community. With the strange path of closed government that seems to be descending on the nation, local openness is ever more important. May I therefore add my voice of support to those trying to reinstate what is surely a simple matter of sending the minutes to the TT. The apparent unwillingness to do so raises questions that may not necessarily be justified, but from the outside looking in it does seem odd why they are not published for all to see. Of course there may very well be a valid and perfectly understandable reason for not publishing them anymore, unlike neighbouring PCs, and given the importance of being open may I suggest you explain why. ‘We all value and understand the commitment and hard work our parish councilors do on our behalf to ensure our community is vibrant safe and inclusive for us all. Like many such public services it goes un-thanked and often ignored, so please do not take this email as criticism of all your work, but it simply would be helpful for the parishioners to have regular and simple easy access to the minutes so we know what is happening in Clifton and its environs.’ Pat Prosser, one of the Leaders of the Clifton Friendship Club, wrote: ‘The Friendship Club has some 70 members, the majority of whom do NOT have computers or indeed any idea of how they work. For them the only way of keeping up to date with what one might term, the official goings on in the village and surrounding area, is the Teme Triangle. A system which has worked perfectly well for many years. It would seem that these many, many people are to be discriminated against because they neither have computers or any knowledge of how they work. In the 21st century when we are told time and time again that fairness and equality for all and freedom of information is paramount, I am unable to understand why our very own Parish Council should set itself against this very ethos. To what purpose of withholding this information, that should be readily and promptly available, I am at a loss to understand. These people live in the village of Clifton, the Parish Council is set 4 www.temetriangle.net up to represent the village of Clifton and its Councillors are there to represent the wishes of the people of Clifton. It seems a no-brainer to me, since logic and common sense must be at one here, ie. that circulation of the Parish Council’s Draft/Unadopted minutes is most easily achieved through the Teme Triangle for the many who will never be of the technological world (though I understand that even the computerised version is woefully behind in publishing events as only the July Minutes are at present available). I understand that Russ Henry has tried to raise this issue previously but to no avail. I would therefore ask that he be supported by at least one of you in his efforts to get this matter heard again - such that this issue be revisited and that, subsequent to this, the time worn way be reinstated, which is that those Draft/Unadopted Minutes be printed in Teme Triangle and in a prompt manner. In this way, the elderly amongst us might continue to be involved in a village they have contributed to most of, if not all of, their lives... it could be argued it is their due.’ Following the Parish Council’s decision, the Secretary of the Clifton WI, Beth Whittenbury, said: ‘Two of our WI members attended the Parish Council meeting to hear what the result of our mass request for a hearing would be. It turns out that the parish councillors were all intimidated by the polite emails from Clifton residents asking for the re-instatement of their minutes in Teme Triangle. They made it clear that they are all unpaid volunteers and they would do the job of parish councillors as they wanted and not anyone else. They voted to reject the request. On application, the clerk will send the minutes once approved, by email. Great for those with access to the internet - not so for most of the elderly population with no access for whom the request was made. I am very disappointed. I had been under the impression that the PC was there to represent us as well as themselves as residents. The inclusion of their email addresses on the Parish Council website would seem to invite correspondence. Thanks to everyone who has helped with this attempt to restore a much needed and important item to our very special Teme Triangle local magazine.’ (On behalf of six local organisations representing the elderly of Clifton: St. Kenelm’s PCC, Friendship Club, Bowls Club, Lion Coffee Club, Village Hall Trustees and the WI) www.temetriangle.net 5 SOFT FURNISHINGS by Tracey Birks Tel: 01886 812583 Bespoke Handmade Curtains, Blinds, and Roller Blinds designed for you and your home. Measuring and Fitting Service Included. Handmade lampshades made to order in your choice of fabric. MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION Short courses introducing beginners to the meaning and practice of mindfulness & mediation. 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